As KCRW general manager Ruth Seymour exits, Santa Monica College has named her No. 2, Jennifer Ferro, to replace her. Here's the press release:
FERRO NAMED KCRW’S NEW GENERAL MANAGER
SMC Selects Assistant General Manager to Succeed Ruth Seymour at Its Renowned Public Radio Station
Santa Monica College is pleased to announce that Jennifer Ferro , who currently serves as Assistant General Manager of public radio station KCRW 89.9 FM and www.KCRW.com, has been named the new General Manager of the renowned station.
The SMC Board of Trustees today (Feb. 20) approved the selection of Ferro, who begins in her new position March 1. Ferro succeeds Ruth Seymour, who is retiring Feb. 26 after running KCRW for 32 years and building it into a powerhouse National Public Radio affiliate with a global audience.
"Jennifer epitomizes the perfect mix of traditional public radio experience, and the strategic and creative new media thinking that will be critical to KCRW's continued success in the years ahead," said SMC President Dr. Chui L. Tsang in making the announcement.
SMC holds KCRW’s license and was responsible for the search to find Seymour's replacement.
Ferro has worked in all areas of the station’s operations, including programming, marketing, new media, technology development and fundraising since joining the KCRW staff in 1994. She first came to the station as a volunteer arts reporter in 1991. Ferro’s independent spirit impressed Seymour, who hired her as an assistant. She was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 1997.
"I'm thrilled to be able to get the opportunity to lead the best public radio station in the country and I’m excited to work with the station's incredible staff on the challenges and opportunities in front of us. It's a dream job," Ferro said.
"Jennifer is an ideal choice to lead the station forward," said outgoing manager Ruth Seymour. "She brings her own unique approach and vision to KCRW. She's innovative, courageous and independent. She's an experienced programmer, producer and fundraiser. She will make a terrific manager and I look forward to a KCRW under her leadership."
Ferro is the executive director of some of the station's most popular programs, including “Good Food with Evan Kleiman," and "DnA: Design and Architecture with Frances Anderton." "Good Food" is the station's highest-grossing one-hour program during pledge drives.
Ferro is also leading the station in working with SMC to build a new facility for KCRW, which will be integrated into the college’s Academy of Entertainment & Technology campus. The new facility, which recently won a creativity award from the Urban Land Institute, is scheduled for completion by 2013.
In addition to creating a plan to improve on-air fundraising tactics, Ferro spearheaded a change in KCRW's online strategy that includes its three live Internet radio channels, successful iPhone apps, active blogs, original content features, and social media strategies.
Ferro is also known in the broader sphere of public radio. She serves as a Board Member for the Development Exchange, Inc., the public radio industry's fundraising, revenue and marketing organization. She’s also appeared as a panelist about public radio at numerous new media and broadcasting conferences.
Ferro is married and is the mother of two daughters, 7 and 9. She is a soccer player as well as an AYSO youth soccer coach.
Gonna be quite a change to hear someone else's voice during KCRW's semi-annual pledge drives.
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